The Comfort Cub donated 500+ weighted therapy bears to San Diego hospitals for American Heart Month, supporting families coping with grief and loss.
SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, February 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In recognition of American Heart Month, San Diego nonprofit The Comfort Cub donated more than 500 weighted therapeutic teddy bears to local hospitals during its annual “Heal A Heart Day.”
The donation event began at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns and supports families experiencing infant loss. The organization provides its signature weighted therapy bears to labor and delivery departments to ensure grieving parents do not leave the hospital empty-handed. The nonprofit’s team of ambassadors and volunteers wrapped, packaged and distributed each case.
Each Comfort Cub is intentionally weighted to provide deep touch pressure when held against the chest. This sensory input helps regulate the nervous system and may ease the physical symptoms of acute grief, including Broken Heart Syndrome — also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo syndrome.
Founder Marcella Johnson created The Comfort Cub 27 years ago after losing her infant son, George Gabriel Johnson.
“I left the hospital empty-handed, and the grief was so heavy it made my heart ache and my arms ache,” Johnson said. “I later learned I was experiencing Broken Heart Syndrome. When I held something slightly weighted against my chest, the physical pain eased because it mimicked holding a newborn. That experience became the foundation for The Comfort Cub.”
Beyond labor and delivery units, Comfort Cubs are used in NICUs, ICUs, emergency departments, oncology units, and trauma response settings. The bears support individuals and families coping with the loss of a child, spouse, parent, sibling, grandparent, or beloved pet; birth parents placing a child for adoption; individuals with special needs; families caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia; and survivors of disaster.
The nonprofit has responded to tragedies nationwide. Cubs were donated following the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and to families, survivors, and first responders after the shooting at Robb Elementary School. In recent years, the organization has also supported families impacted by wildfires in Maui and Southern California and by the 2025 Central Texas floods.
The Comfort Cubs are used to support legal services for children navigating the legal system due to maltreatment, neglect, and through forensic interviews; plus, local law enforcement uses the Comfort Cubs on their domestic calls. The Comfort Cub also supports adults and the youth in the mental health space, special needs campuses and classes with all kinds of therapy, including music therapy, and is used in San Diego education systems.
The Comfort Cub has been featured by major outlets including TIME, Rolling Stone, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, KTLA, and San Diego television affiliates and news outlets.
For more information or to donate, visit www.theComfortCub.org.
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